Japan restores the rank title of "Taisho", triggering China's memory of the War of Resistance

The风波 of "threatening to send troops to the Taiwan Strait" has not yet subsided, and Takahashi Hayato is preparing to make small moves on the issue of Japan's re-militarization.

On the 12th, Japanese media "Sankei Shimbun" cited statements from multiple sources that the Japanese government is considering amending the rank titles of the Self-Defense Forces to "align with international standards".

In short, the Japanese government plans to restore the old Japanese Army's rank names for the three levels of officers, warrant officers, and generals. The current "one lieutenant, two lieutenant, three lieutenant" will be changed to "major, captain, second lieutenant"; "one warrant officer, two warrant officer, three warrant officer" will be changed to "major, captain, second lieutenant"; "general, general assistant" will be changed to "major general, brigadier general", and the chief of staff, due to an additional star on the rank, is proposed to be called "lieutenant general".

At the same time, some branch names will also be changed, such as "common corps" to "infantry corps", "special corps" to "artillery corps", and "facility corps" to "engineer corps".

The Japanese government claims that this move aims to "improve public understanding of the Self-Defense Forces", "enhance the status and morale of the Self-Defense Forces", and "respond to changes in the security situation around it", especially to align with the U.S. military and NATO standard rank terminology to reduce communication barriers.

However, this reason is hard to convince, because the current English translation of the Self-Defense Forces' rank titles already fully matches those of the U.S. military, so the so-called "alignment" and "reduction of communication barriers" are completely unfounded.

The current unique numeric ranking system of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces stems from a specific historical context after World War II.

In 1954, Japan enacted the "Self-Defense Forces Law" under the framework of the "Peace Constitution" to distinguish it from the old Japanese Army and to minimize its military connotation, the Self-Defense Forces adopted numerical designations as rank titles to emphasize its defensive nature and exceptionalism.

But now, the Japanese government's attempt to restore the rank titles of the old Japanese Army essentially pushes the Self-Defense Forces towards "militarization", erasing the symbol of the "post-war system", and is part of Japan's strategy to break through the constraints of the "Peace Constitution" and pursue "national normalization".

For Asian countries that once suffered from Japanese imperialism, terms like "Taisho" are not neutral words, but symbolic signs of Japan's history of aggression and expansion.

The Japanese government's choice to restore these rank titles, which carry the responsibility for war crimes, rather than creating new, future-oriented vocabulary, is undoubtedly a disregard and provocation to the feelings of the people of the Asian victim countries, revealing its dangerous tendencies in historical issues.

From the relaxation of collective self-defense rights, breaking the principle of "exclusive defense", to the development of long-range attack capabilities, and now the "retro" ranks, Japan is gradually getting rid of the constraints of the post-war international order.

However, this move not only fails to build regional trust, but also increases the vigilance and concerns of neighboring countries about Japan's military expansionist tendencies.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1848672932050944/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.